Vehicle control device

ABSTRACT

A vehicle control device includes: a first detection unit that detects a traveling state of a host vehicle; a merging detection unit that detects that the host vehicle approaches within a predetermined area of a merging point when the host vehicle travels on the merging road toward the merging point at which a main road joins with the merging road; a second detection unit that detects a speed of a lane flow by another vehicle that travels on the main road toward the merging point; a position detection unit that obtains a position of a pre-merging point as a virtual point on the main road reaching the merging point when the host vehicle reaches the merging point; and a display control unit that controls a display device to display the position of the host vehicle and the pre-merging point.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a divisional Application of U.S. patent applicationSer. No. 15/744,559 filed on Jan. 12, 2018 which is a U.S. NationalPhase Application under 35 U.S.C. 371 of International Application No.PCT/JP2016/080509 filed on Oct. 14, 2016 and published in Japanese as WO2017/094364 A1 on Jun. 8, 2017. These applications are based on andclaim the benefit of priority from Japanese Patent Application No.2015-235984 filed on Dec. 2, 2015. The entire disclosures of all of theabove applications are incorporated herein by reference.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present disclosure relates to a vehicle control device that performsa control when a host vehicle reaches another road.

BACKGROUND ART

Up to now, as disclosed in Patent Literature 1, a device that displaysvarious kinds of information as an index of a driving operation on adisplay of the host vehicle to assist the driving operation when avehicle operated by a driver reaches another road (that is, a main road)from a traveling road (that is, a merging road) has been proposed.

However, for example, in the case where the self-driving is performed,when the host vehicle approaches a merging point, an occupant such as adriver may feel uneasy.

More specifically, if there is another vehicle traveling towards themerging point on the main road relative to a host vehicle approachingthe merging point on the merging road, the other vehicle graduallyapproaches the host vehicle. For that reason, the occupant may feeluneasy such as whether the host vehicle can successfully join the othervehicle, or not.

PRIOR ART LITERATURES Patent Literature

Patent Literature 1: Japanese Patent No. 4830621

SUMMARY

It is an object of the present disclosure to provide a vehicle controldevice giving a sense of security to an occupant when a host vehicleapproaches a merging point.

According to an aspect of the present disclosure, a vehicle controldevice includes: a first detection unit that detects a traveling stateincluding at least a position and a speed of a host vehicle; a mergingdetection unit that detects that the host vehicle approaches within apredetermined area of a merging point on a road in which a merging roadand a main road join together at the merging point when the host vehicletravels on the merging road toward the merging point; a second detectionunit that detects a speed of a lane flow by another vehicle that travelson the main road toward the merging point; a position detection unitthat sets a pre-merging point as a virtual point moving on the main roadtoward the merging point according to the lane flow, the pre-mergingpoint reaching the merging point when the host vehicle reaches themerging point, and obtains a position of the pre-merging point on themain road at a present time based on a time required for the hostvehicle to reach the merging point and the speed of the lane flow on themain road when the host vehicle approaches within the predetermined areaof the merging point; and a display control unit that controls a displaydevice to display the position of the host vehicle on the merging roadat the present time and the position of the pre-merging point on themain road at the present time.

According to the vehicle control device described above, when the hostvehicle is approaching the merging point, the current position of thehost vehicle and the current position of the pre-merging point can bedisplayed on the display device. The pre-merging point moves toward themerging point at the flow speed of the lane as if the pre-merging pointis the other vehicle traveling on the main road. Therefore, the displaydevice can display the host vehicle approaching the merging point on themerging road and the pre-merging point approaching the merging point onthe main road with time.

Therefore, the occupant can predict how the host vehicle will join theother vehicle, for example, during self-driving, while viewing such adisplay. In other words, the occupant can know how the host vehiclejoins the other vehicle at the target merging point. Therefore, theoccupant's feeling of uneasiness can be reduced, and the sense ofsecurity is greatly improved.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

The above and other objects, features and advantages of the presentdisclosure will become more apparent from the following detaileddescription made with reference to the accompanying drawings. In thedrawings:

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a vehicle system including a vehiclecontrol device according to an embodiment;

FIG. 2 is a block diagram functionally showing a vehicle control device;

FIG. 3 is an illustrative view exemplifying a state of a vehicletraveling on a merging lane;

FIG. 4 is an illustrative view showing a method of obtaining a positionof a pre-merging point;

FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing a merging control process to be performedby the vehicle control device;

FIG. 6 is an illustrative view showing a merging display image and thelike displayed on a display device; and

FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing a process of displaying a pre-mergingpoint mark in a merging control process.

EMBODIMENTS

Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present disclosure will be describedwith reference to the drawings.

1. Embodiment

[1-1. Configuration]

First, a system configuration of a vehicle control device according tothe present embodiment will be described.

As shown in FIG. 1 , a vehicle system 1 according to the presentembodiment is a system capable of self-driving of a vehicle, and isconfigured by various devices mounted on a host vehicle J shown in FIG.3 as will be described later.

The vehicle system 1 has a self-driving function for automaticallydriving the host vehicle J to a destination according to a travel routethat is a route to a destination set by a driver or the like, that is, aplanned travel route K shown in FIG. 4 . The self-driving function isrealized by multiple functions for supporting the driving of the hostvehicle J.

The multiple functions configuring the self-driving function include,for example, a steering angle control function, a vehicle speed controlfunction, an acceleration and deceleration control function, a lanechange function, and the like. In the present specification, thesteering angle control function is a function of controlling a steeringso as to follow the planned travel route K. The vehicle speed controlfunction is a function of controlling a vehicle speed of the hostvehicle J to a target vehicle speed. The acceleration and decelerationcontrol function is a function of controlling acceleration anddeceleration of the host vehicle J. The lane change function is afunction of changing a lane in which the host vehicle J travels.

As a technique related to self-driving, a level of automation isclassified into, for example, a level 1 (that is, driving supportsystem), levels 2 and 3 (that is, semi-self-travel system), and a level4 (that is, complete self-travel system). In general, when theself-driving is carried out, the automation of the levels 2 to 4 isshown. The detail is described, for example, in “Strategic InnovationPromotion Program Automated Driving System” announced in May 2015 by theCabinet Office.

In this example, a case of the level 3 in which when the self-driving ofthe level 2 or higher is performed, for example, a case of the level 3that performs the self-driving in which the host vehicle J canautomatically travel even when the driver does not operate the hostvehicle J will be described.

As shown in FIG. 1 , the vehicle system 1 described above includes anavigation apparatus 5, host vehicle sensors 7, a periphery recognitiondevice 9, an output device 11, a vehicle control device 13, a controltarget device 15, a communication device 17 and the like, which areconnected to each other by a LAN 3. In the following description, theelectronic control device will be referred to as an ECU. The ECU is anabbreviation for electronic control unit.

Hereinafter, the respective configurations will be described.

The host vehicle sensors 7 are well-known devices that detect a state ofthe host vehicle J. The host vehicle sensors 7 include a vehicle speedsensor 21 that detects a speed of the host vehicle J, an accelerationsensor 23 that detects a longitudinal acceleration and the like, and soon.

The periphery recognition device 9 is a well-known device thatrecognizes circumstances around the host vehicle J.

The periphery recognition device 9 includes a well-known camera 25 (forexample, a CCD camera) that recognizes the circumstances around the hostvehicle J based on the result of imaging a periphery of the host vehicleJ and performing image processing.

As the camera 25, for example, there are a forward imaging camera havingan imaging area in front of the host vehicle J, a right lateral camerahaving an imaging area on a right side of the host vehicle J, and a leftlateral camera having an imaging area on a left side of the hostvehicle.

The periphery recognition device 9 is not limited to the camera 25 butmay be a well-known monitoring device that irradiates a probe wave andmonitors a road condition according to the result of receiving areflected wave of the irradiated probe wave. In the presentspecification, the monitoring device includes a radar 27 such as awell-known infrared radar that transmits and receives infrared rays asthe probe wave, and a well-known millimeter wave radar that transmitsand receives electromagnetic waves in the millimeter wave band as theprobe wave, and a well-known sonar that transmits and receives a soundwave as the probe wave.

The output device 11 is a well-known device for notifying informationfrom the vehicle control device 13. The output device 11 is providedwith a display device 29 for displaying information, for example, adisplay device 29 such as a display for displaying various informationarranged on an instrument panel on a front side in a vehicle interior, asound output device (for example, a speaker) 31 that outputs informationby sound or the like.

The navigation apparatus 5 is a device for guiding a route to adestination according to the planned travel route K. The navigationapparatus 5 includes a position detector 33, an input device 35, anavigation storage device 37, and a navigation ECU 39.

The position detector 33 detects information necessary for detecting thecurrent position of the host vehicle J and an azimuth of the travelingdirection. The position detector 33 includes a receiver for receiving asignal from a navigation satellite. In the present specification, thenavigation satellite is a satellite that realizes a well-known satellitepositioning system, such as a global positioning system satellite (forexample, GPS satellite) and a Galileo in-orbit validation elementsatellite (for example, GIOVE satellite).

Signals from the vehicle speed sensor 21, the acceleration sensor 23, agyro sensor not shown for detecting an angular velocity of the hostvehicle J, and so on are input to the position detector 33.

The input device 35 is a well-known device that accepts input ofinformation. The input device 35 includes, for example, a well-knownswitch group and a touch panel formed integrally with the display device29.

The navigation storage device 37 is a rewritable nonvolatile storagedevice. The navigation storage device 37 is configured by, for example,a hard disk drive or a flash memory.

Map data (for example, map information) representing a structure of theroads is stored in the navigation storage device 37. The map dataincludes various data such as node data, link data, cost data, terraindata, mark data, intersection data, and facility data. Among thosepieces of data, the node data represents coordinates at each specificpoint on the road, that is, positions indicated by latitude, longitude,and altitude.

In the present specification, the specific point on the road includes amerging point where one road merges with another road different from theone road, that is, a merging point where a merging road to be describedlater merges into a main road.

In other words, the specific point includes a merging point on a road onwhich a vehicle driven by self-driving can travel, for example, on ageneral road, or a merging point on a road exclusively for a car such asa highway, for example, a merging point in a ramp way, an interchange, ajunction, or the like.

Link data represents each road (in other words, link) that connectsbetween nodes. The cost data represents a unit cost that is previouslyallocated to each link. Facility data represents the position andcontents of a pedestrian crossing and various signs installed on theroad.

The navigation ECU 39 is a well-known electronic control deviceincluding a ROM, a RAM, and a CPU. The navigation ECU 39 identifies thecurrent position of the host vehicle J, that is, the latitude,longitude, and altitude through a well-known technique conforming to asatellite navigation realized by the satellite positioning system on thebasis of a signal received by a receiver included in the positiondetector 33.

The method of identifying the current position of the host vehicle J bythe navigation ECU 39 is not limited to the above configuration, but mayidentify the current position of the host vehicle J by a well-knownautonomous navigation according to the detection results of the vehiclespeed sensor 21 and the gyro sensor, or may correct the current positionof the host vehicle J identified by the satellite navigation, throughthe autonomous navigation for identification.

The control target device 15 is a controlled device that is controlledby the vehicle control device 13. Although not shown, the controlleddevice according to the present embodiment includes a steering controldevice for controlling a steering angle of a steering wheel, a drivecontrol device for controlling a driving force of the host vehicle J,and a braking control device for controlling a braking force of the hostvehicle J.

In the present specification, the drive control device may be configuredby an internal combustion engine control device that controls arotational speed and a torque of the internal combustion engine as longas the host vehicle J is a vehicle having an internal combustion engineas an engine that generates the driving force of the subject vehicle J.If the host vehicle J is a vehicle having an internal combustion engine,the drive control device may include a mission control device forcontrolling the transmission of the host vehicle J.

In addition, the drive control device may be configured by a motorcontrol device that controls the rotational speed of a motor as long asthe host vehicle J is a vehicle having an electric motor as an enginethat generates the driving force of the subject vehicle J.

The communication device 17 is a communication device for enabling acommunication between the host vehicle J and the other vehicle T (thatis, vehicle-to-vehicle communication), and a communication (that is,road-to-vehicle communication) between the host vehicle J and a roadsidedevice 18 shown in FIG. 3 which is a communication device of a basestation disposed on a road side.

In this example, when the vehicle-to-vehicle communication is performedbetween the host vehicle J and the other vehicle T, the host vehicle Jcan obtain information on the position and the speed of the othervehicle T. In addition, when the road-to-vehicle communication isperformed between a vehicle traveling on the road, that is, the hostvehicle J or the other vehicle T and the roadside device 18, the hostvehicle J can obtain the information on the position and the velocity ofthe other vehicle T transmitted to the roadside device 18, from theroadside device 18. The roadside device 18 is connected to, for example,a server not shown such as a center for managing, for example, roadinformation, and can obtain necessary information from the server.

The vehicle control device 13 is a well-known control device mainlyconfigured by a well-known microcomputer including a ROM 41, a RAM 43,and a CPU 45. The ROM 41 stores data and programs that need to holdstored contents even when a power is turned off. The RAM 43 temporarilystores the data. The CPU 45 executes processing according to a programor the like stored in the ROM 41 or the RAM 43.

In the ROM 41 of the vehicle control device 13, a processing program forcausing the vehicle control device 13 to execute, for example, a mergingcontrol process for supporting the driving of the host vehicle J in asituation where the traveling road (that is, the merging road) on whichthe vehicle J travels merges into another road (that is, the main road)among processes necessary for realizing the self-driving function isstored.

As shown in FIG. 2 , the vehicle control device 13 includes, asprocessing contents to be executed by the processing program, that is,functions of a first detection unit 51, a merging detection unit 53, asecond detection unit 55, a position detection unit 57, and a displaycontrol unit 59.

The first detection unit 51 detects a traveling state including at leastthe position and the speed of the host vehicle J.

As will be described later in detail, when the host vehicle J istraveling on the merging road toward the merging point, the mergingdetection unit 53 detects that the host vehicle J approaches within apredetermined area (for example, a predetermined distance) from themerging point on the road where the merging road and the main road mergetogether at the merging point.

The second detection unit 55 detects a speed of a lane flow of the othervehicle T traveling toward the merging point on the main road.

As will be described in detail later, the position detection unit 57sets a pre-merging point which is a virtual point that moves toward themerging point according to the flow of the lane on the main road, andreaches the merging point when the host vehicle J reaches the mergingpoint. In other words, it is assumed that the pre-merging point moves onthe main road in this way. The position detection unit 57 obtains theposition of the pre-merging point at the present time based on a timeuntil the host vehicle J reaches the merging point and a speed of thelane flow on the main road, when the host vehicle J approaches withinthe predetermined area from the merging point.

The display control unit 59 causes the display device 29 to display theposition of the host vehicle J on the merging road at the present timeand the position of the pre-merging point on the main road at thepresent time.

Various functions of the vehicle control device 13 are realized bycausing the CPU 45 to execute the program stored in a non-transitorytangible recording medium. In this example, the ROM 41 corresponds to anon-transitory tangible recording medium storing a program. Also, withthe execution of the program, a method corresponding to the program isexecuted. The number of microcomputers configuring the vehicle controldevice 13 may be one or more.

[1-2. Display Method of Pre-Merging Point]

Next, a method of displaying the pre-merging point will be described.

Now, as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4 , a road on which traffic keeps to theleft will be described as an example. For example, a highway which is aroad dedicated to a car has two opposing lanes is taken as an example.In other words, let us consider a case where one lane road (that is,merging road GD) merges with one lane of a two-lane highway which is themain road HD, that is, a lane on the left side of FIGS. 3 and 4 .

Specifically, in the case of a road having a structure in which themerging road GD merges into the main road HD described above, actually,the host vehicle traveling on the merging road GD reaches one of thelanes of the main road HD, that is, the lane on the merging road GD sidelane (hereinafter referred to as the main lane HS).

When there are multiple lanes on one side such as two lanes on one side,a lane on the outermost side, that is, a lane on the side to which themerging road GD is connected may be considered.

Further, in FIG. 4 , the host vehicle J on the merging road GD isindicated by a host vehicle mark 61 surrounding a V-shaped portion 61 awith a circular frame body 61 b. The position of the host vehicle mark61 is the current position of the host vehicle J, and a tip side of theV-shaped portion indicates a traveling direction. Further, in thetwo-lane main road HD, the other vehicles T on the main lane HS and onthe opposing lane TS are indicated by circular other vehicle marks 63.Further, a pre-merging point JG to be described later is indicated by apre-merging point mark 65 surrounding a double circle 65 a and aperiphery of the double circle 65 a with a rectangular frame body 65 b.

A point where the merging road GD and the main road HD merge together,in particular, a point where the merging road GD and the main lane HSmerge together is a merging point GT, and in FIG. 4 , a point at which acenter line of a width of the merging road GD and a center line of awidth of the main lane HS intersect with each other is indicated by acircle as the merging point GT.

First, a concept of the pre-merging point JG will be described.

When the host vehicle J under the self-driving is traveling on themerging road GD toward the merging point GT, the host vehicle J reachesthe merging point GT after a predetermined time. At this time, when theother vehicle T is traveling on the main lane HS, the other vehicle Treaches the merging point GT after a certain time according to the flowof the lane in the same manner.

The lane flow normally means an overall flow of the vehicles when themultiple vehicles are traveling on the same lane. In other words, evenwhen the speed is different for each car, the lane flow means atraveling state of the vehicles along the lane when viewed as a whole.

In this case, instead of considering that the host vehicle J and theother vehicles T reach the merging point GT at the same time, it isassumed that “a space without any vehicle” moves at the same speed andreaches the merging point GT at the same time. In other words, the“space without any vehicle” moving toward the merging point GTcorresponds to the pre-merging point JG.

Therefore, as with the other vehicles T, the pre-merging point JG moveson the main lane HS according to the flow of the lane, and can beregarded as reaching the merging point GT after a lapse of apredetermined time.

Next, a method for obtaining the position of the pre-merging point JGwill be described in more detail.

As shown in FIG. 4 , in the case where the host vehicle J is approachingthe merging point GT on the merging road GD, when a speed of the hostvehicle J is set to V1 and a distance from the current position of thehost vehicle J to the merging point GT is set to a first distance S1, atime TM until the host vehicle J reaches the merging point GT isobtained by S1/V1.

On the other hand, in the case where the other vehicles T approach themerging point GT on the main lane HS, when the speed of the flow of thevehicles (in other words, the flow of the lane) on the main lane HS isset to V2, the other vehicles T and the pre-merging point JG move by adistance (that is, a second distance) S2 obtained by the speed V2×timeTM along the flow of the lane during the time TM until the host vehicleJ reaches the merging point GT.

In the present specification, the speed V2 of the flow of the lane meansa speed obtained by averaging the speeds of the multiple other vehiclesT traveling on the main lane HS as a whole, and can employ, for example,an average value of the speeds of the multiple other vehicles T in apredetermined range on the main lane HS. When the number of othervehicles T is one, a speed of the other vehicle T can be employed.

Since the time TM is the time until the host vehicle J reaches themerging point GT, when viewed on the main lane HS, the pre-merging pointJG is present at a position upstream of the merging point GT by thesecond distance S2.

In other words, as described above, the pre-merging point JG moves onthe main lane HS toward the merging point GT in association with themovement of the other vehicles T, in other words, according to the flowof the lane, and reaches the merging point GT when the host vehicle Jreaches the merging point GT. In other words, the pre-merging point JGis not an actual merging point but a virtual merging point at thepresent time.

In this way, the position of the pre-merging point JG at the presenttime, that is, the position of the host vehicle J at the present timeand the position of the pre-merging point JG at the same time can beobtained by the method described above.

[1-3. Processing]

Next, a merging control process to be executed by the vehicle controldevice 13 will be described.

As described above, the merging control process means processing at thetime of merging in the case where a route guidance by the navigationapparatus 5 is being executed on a road having a structure in which themerging road GD merges into the main lane HS, for example, on a highwaywhich is an exclusive road for a car. In other words, the mergingcontrol process is a process of displaying information on the hostvehicle J and information on the surroundings of the host vehicle J onthe display device 29 when the host vehicle J traveling on the mergingroad GD during the self-driving reaches the main lane HS.

In more detail, the merging control process is a process of displaying,on the display device 29, the host vehicle J that approaches the mergingpoint GT on the merging road GD, the other vehicles T that approach themerging point GT on the main lane HS, the pre-merging point JG, and soon when the host vehicle J approaches the merging point GT byself-driving.

The merging control process according to the present embodiment isrepeatedly activated at predefined time intervals during a period inwhich the process for realizing the self-driving function is beingexecuted.

As shown in FIG. 5 , when the merging control process is activatedduring the self-driving, the vehicle control device 13 firstly acquiresa planned travel route K from the navigation apparatus 5 in Step 100.The planned travel route K acquired in Step 110 is a route (that is,route information) on which the host vehicle is scheduled to travel to adestination input through the navigation apparatus 5. In FIG. 5 , “Step”is described as “S”.

In the subsequent Step 110, the current position of the host vehicle Jand the position (latitude, longitude, and altitude) of the mergingpoint GT are acquired from the navigation apparatus 5.

In the present specification, the position of the merging point GT ispresent on the planned travel route K and closest to the currentposition of the host vehicle J, that is, latitude, longitude, andaltitude. In Step 110, the vehicle control device 13 specificallyacquires the position of the merging point GT from the map data storedin the navigation storage device 37. For ease of computation, altitudeinformation can be omitted. The omission of the altitude information isthe same below.

In the subsequent Step 120, a distance (that is, a first distance) S1along the travel route from the current position of the host vehicle Jacquired in Step 110 to the position of the merging point GT is derived(that is, calculated). In this Step 120, the vehicle control device 13derives the first distance S1 along the planned travel route K, that is,along a road shape of the planned travel route K.

In the subsequent Step 130, it is determined whether the host vehicle Japproaches the merging point GT, or not. That is, it is determinedwhether the first distance S1 derived in Step 120 is less than apredefined distance threshold (for example, 200 m), or not.

In the present specification, the distance threshold is a determinationvalue at which assistance for driving of the host vehicle J should bestarted in a situation where the merging road GD on which the hostvehicle J travels merges with the main lane HS, and defined as an upperlimit value of the distance from the position of the merging point GT.The distance threshold value may be obtained in advance throughexperiments or the like.

As a result of the determination in Step 130, if the first distance 51is less than the distance threshold value, the process proceeds to Step140. Otherwise, since the host vehicle J does not yet approach themerging point GT, the present process is once terminated.

In Step 140, because the host vehicle J is approaching the merging pointGT, various kinds of information necessary for displaying the displayinformation (that is, merging display information) relating to themerging described later is acquired.

Specifically, the speed V1 and so on of the host vehicle J is acquiredfrom the vehicle speed sensor 21 or the like of the host vehicle sensors7 of the host vehicle J. At this time point, the navigation apparatus 5normally displays the planned travel route K and the position of thehost vehicle J along the travel planned route K on the display device29.

Further, a vehicle-to-vehicle communication with the other vehicle T inthe vicinity of the host vehicle J, or a road-to-vehicle communicationbetween the host vehicle J and the roadside device 18 is performed toacquire information on the speed, the traveling direction, the position,and so on of the other vehicle T traveling on the main lane HS.

With the above information, information on the other vehicles Ttraveling toward the merging point GT on the main lane HS can beacquired. Information on the other vehicles T traveling on the opposinglane TS of the main lane HS is also acquired.

Further, the peripheral information such as the position of lane lines,signs, and so on is acquired from the information from the peripheryrecognition device 9 (for example, the camera 15). Further, variouskinds of peripheral information such as a connection state (for example,the shape of roads) between the merging road HS and the main lane HS areacquired from the navigation apparatus 5.

In subsequent Step 150, merging display information to be displayed onthe display device 29 is obtained based on the information acquired inStep 140.

For example, as described with reference to FIG. 4 , the time TM to themerging point GT is obtained based on the speed V1 of the host vehicle Jand the first distance S1 through calculation of S1/V1. Further, thespeed V2 of the lane flow on the main lane HS is obtained based on thespeed of the multiple other vehicles T in a predetermined range, forexample, an average value of the speeds of the multiple other vehicles.The second distance S2 along the traveling route on the main lane HS isobtained based on the time TM and the speed V2 by calculation of TM×V2,to obtain the position of the pre-merging point JG.

As the other vehicles T within the predetermined range, for example, theother vehicles T present in an area from the merging point GT to apredetermined distance on an upstream side, for example, in an area ofthe first distance S1, a multiple of the first distance S1 can beadopted.

In this example, the merging display information is displayed on thedisplay device 29 from before the merging point GT. For example, themerging display information is displayed if an affirmative determinationis made in Step 130. The merging display information will be describedin detail later.

In the subsequent Step 160, the merging display information obtained inStep 150 is displayed on the display device 29 as described later, andthe present process is terminated once.

[1-4. Merging Display Information]

Now, merging display information to be displayed on the display device29 at the time of merging described above will be described.

As shown in FIG. 6 , as is well known, various kinds of map informationon a road 73 and so on is displayed on the display device 29, forexample, on a display surface 71 of a horizontally elongated rectangleof the display device 29 before the host vehicle J approaches themerging point GT. When the route guidance is set by the self-driving orthe like, the planned travel route K is displayed in a line shape with anoticeable color or the like on the road 73.

Further, the host vehicle mark 61 indicating the position and thetraveling direction of the host vehicle J is displayed on the plannedtravel route K so as to display the position of the host vehicle J.

When the host vehicle J approaches the merging point GT, a partialscreen 79 on which the merging display information is displayed isdisplayed so as to overlap with a screen (hereinafter referred to as abase screen) 77 on which the entire map information on the displaysurface 71 is displayed.

For example, a partial screen 79 is displayed on the right side of thebase screen 77 so that the merging point GT of the base screen 77 isvisible. In the partial screen 79, an image to be displayed on thepartial screen 79 is displayed as a transmission image (for example, asemi-transmission image) so that the image of the base screen 77 istransmissively visible. The image to be displayed on the partial screen79 may be a non-transmission image so that the base screen 77 on thepartial screen 79 is not displayed at all.

An image indicating the merging display information (that is, mergingdisplay image) is displayed on the partial screen 79. In the mergingdisplay image, the roads in the vicinity of the merging point GT areschematically enlarged and displayed.

In this case, as described above, an example in which the merging roadGD on which the host vehicle J travels is set as a single lane road andthe road with which the merging road GD merges (that is, the main roadHD) is divided into two lines having the main lane HS and the opposinglane TS will be described.

Specifically, in the merging display image, the host vehicle mark 61indicating the position and traveling direction of the host vehicle J atthe present time is displayed on the merging road GD. In addition, onthe main lane HS and the opposing lane TS, the positions of the othervehicles T traveling on the main lane HS and the opposing lane TS at thepresent time are indicated by the other vehicle mark 63 such as acircle. The host vehicle mark 61 and the other vehicle mark 63 movealong the passage of time.

Particularly, in the present embodiment, the pre-merging point mark 65indicating the pre-merging point JG is displayed at a position deviatedto the upstream side from the merging point GT along the main lane HS,such as between the other vehicle marks 63 on the main lane HS. Theupstream side is lower in FIG. 5 .

In displaying each piece of information, a distance from the hostvehicle mark 61 to the merging point GT, distances from the mergingpoint GT to each of the other vehicle marks 63 and the pre-merging pointmark 65 in the same lane, distances between the other vehicle marks 63,and a distance between each of the other vehicle marks 63 and thepre-merging point mark 65 are set to lengths corresponding to the actualdistances, for example, a length proportional to the actual distance.Alternatively, those distances are set to lengths indicating arelationship of the actual distances as much as possible.

Further, in order to intuitively grasp that there is a mergeable spacewhen the host vehicle J joins, the pre-merging point mark 65,specifically, the frame body 65 b indicating an area of the pre-mergingpoint mark 65 is indicated within a size showing a predetermined areaalong the direction in which the main lane HS extends and within a widthof the lane.

In other words, when the host vehicle J joins at the merging point GT,since the host vehicle J moves at a high speed and normally the speedalso changes somewhat, a certain space is required in a front-reardirection on the road. Therefore, the pre-merging point JG is indicatedby not a small point on the partial screen 79 but the pre-merging pointmark 65 having a predetermined area so as to correspond to the space.

The size of the pre-merging point mark 65 corresponding to the space inwhich the host vehicle J can safely join when the host vehicle J joinsat the merging point GT can be obtained by experiment or the like. Thespace which is a length along the lane, that is, the pre-merging pointmark 65 is considered to become larger, that is, longer as the speed V1of the host vehicle J and the speed V2 of the lane flow are higher.

The space required for the actual merging may be, for example, aboutseveral times the dimension in the front-back direction of the actualhost vehicle J. Therefore, considering the widths of the road and thelane, the partial screen 79 is shown in approximate scale.

In the present embodiment, the pre-merging point mark 65 is displayed soas not to overlap with the other vehicle mark 63.

For example, when there is not enough space when the host vehicle Jmerges at the merging point GT, if the pre-merging point mark 65 of aninitial setting size is displayed as it is, the pre-merging point mark65 may overlap with the other vehicle mark 63 in some cases.

Accordingly, in order to deal with such a case, as shown in FIG. 7 ,when the pre-merging point mark 65 and so on are displayed, thedetermination of the display can be performed. The determinationprocessing is a part of the processing in Step 160.

More specifically, in Step 200 in FIG. 7 , when the host vehicle J joinson the main lane HS in the current situation based on the position andthe speed V1 of the other vehicle J, that is, based on the flow of thelane, it is determined whether there is sufficient space between theother vehicles, or not. If an affirmative determination is made, theflow proceeds to Step 210, and if a negative determination is made, theflow proceeds to Step 220.

In other words, since the length between the other vehicle marks 63 andthe length of the pre-merging point mark 65 corresponds to the actualdistance, it is determined whether the pre-merging mark 65 overlaps withthe other vehicle marks 63, or not, if the pre-merging point mark 65 isdisplayed on the partial screen 79 as it is.

In Step 210, since there is enough space to merge, that is, since thepre-merging point mark 65 and the other vehicle marks 63 do not overlapwith each other, the other vehicle marks 63 and the pre-merging pointmark 65 are displayed as they are, and the present processing isterminated once.

On the other hand, since there is not enough space to merge in Step 220,the other vehicle marks 63 are displayed, but the pre-merging point mark65 is not displayed, and the present processing is terminated once.

Apart from the above case, the pre-merging point mark 65 may besuperimposed on the other vehicle mark 63, for example, on asemi-transmission image. In this case, in order to notify that there isnot enough space for the merging in the current situation, for example,the pre-merging point mark 65 may be emphasized and displayed withblinking.

In addition, a time display column 81 is provided at an end (forexample, upper left) of the partial screen 79 to display a time takenfor the host vehicle J to reach the merging point GT. In the timedisplay column 8, for example, the number of seconds or the likerequired for arrival is displayed in countdown. Therefore, the numeralin the time display column 81 decreases toward the merging point GT.

The contents to be displayed on the partial screen 79, for example, thehost vehicle mark 61, the other vehicle marks 63, the pre-merging pointmark 65, the merging point GT, the planned travel route K, and the likemay be displayed as emphasized images to be emphasized as compared withsurrounding images and displayed, or may be displayed as a transmissionimage (for example, a semi-transmission image) in which a lower image istransmissively visible. In the case of emphasizing the image, variouswell-known methods can be employed such as making the type of color moreconspicuous than the surrounding color, darkening the color depth,blinking the image, and the like.

Further, as the contents to be displayed on the partial screen 79,various kinds of peripheral information in the vicinity of the mergingpoint GT may be displayed by marks or the like corresponding to thecontents of the character or the peripheral information, in addition tothe above-mentioned various marks and the like.

As the peripheral information, for example, information on roadregulation due to construction, accident or the like, information ontraffic congestion, and so on can be employed.

[1-5. Advantages]

According to the present embodiment described in detail above, thefollowing advantages can be obtained.

(1a) According to the present embodiment, when the host vehicle Japproaches the merging point GT by self-driving, the current position ofthe host vehicle J and the position of the current pre-merging point JGcan be displayed on the display device 29. The pre-merging point JGmoves toward the merging point GT as if the other vehicle T traveling onthe main road HD, more specifically on the main lane HS. As describedabove, the display device 29 can simultaneously display the host vehicleJ approaching the merging point GT on the merging road GD, as well asthe pre-merging point JG and the other vehicles T approaching themerging point GT on the main lane HS with the passage of time.

Therefore, the occupant can predict how the host vehicle J duringself-driving will join while viewing such a display. In other words, theoccupant can find that the host vehicle J can safely join at the mergingpoint GT as a target. Therefore, even when joining in the self-driving,the occupant's feeling of uneasiness can be reduced, and the sense ofsecurity in the self-driving is greatly improved.

(1b) According to the present embodiment, the time TM until the hostvehicle J reaches the merging point GT can be obtained based on thespeed V1 of the host vehicle J and the first distance S1 from theposition of the host vehicle J to the merging point GT. Further, thetime TM is multiplied by the speed V2 of the lane flow on the main laneHS, thereby being capable of obtaining the second distance S2 from themerging point GT to the pre-merging point JG. Further, the position ofthe pre-merging point JG on the main lane HS at the present time pointcan be obtained according to the second distance S2 along the main laneHS.

(1c) According to the present embodiment, the speed VS of the lane flowcan be obtained based on the speed V2 of the other vehicle T travelingon the main road HD, more specifically, the main lane HS.

(1d) According to the present embodiment, when the host vehicle J fallswithin a predetermined distance from the merging point GT at the firstdistance S1 along the merging road GD, it can be determined that thehost vehicle J approaches the merging point GT.

(1e) According to the present embodiment, the pre-merging point JG isdisplayed on the main lane HS so as to have an area of a predeterminedrange along the direction in which the main lane HS extends. Therefore,since the occupant intuitively understands that there is a sufficientmerging area, the occupant's sense of security is improved.

(1f) According to the present embodiment, the pre-merging point JG andthe other vehicles T are displayed so as not to overlap with each other.As a result, a positional relationship between the pre-merging point JGand the other vehicles T can be clearly grasped.

(1g) According to the present embodiment, the display device 29 displaysat least the travel route until the host vehicle J reaches the mergingpoint GT with an emphasized image or a transmission image that isemphasized as compared with the surrounding images. Therefore, in thecase of displaying with the emphasized image, it is possible to easilyrecognize the travel route. Further, in the case of displaying in atransmission image (for example, a semi-transmission image), it ispossible to recognize a wide range of information from the base screen77.

(1h) According to the present embodiment, since the merging point GT isdisplayed on the display device 29, the travel route up to the mergingpoint GT can be easily recognized.

(1i) According to the present embodiment, the merging point GT can bedisplayed on the display device 29 with an emphasized image or atransmission image in the same manner as described above.

(1j) According to the present embodiment, since the peripheralinformation indicating the circumstances around the merging point GT isdisplayed on the display device 29, the circumstances around the mergingpoint GT can be accurately grasped to improve the sense of security.

(1k) According to the present embodiment, since the display device 29displays the time (that is, the predicted time) required for the hostvehicle J to reach the merging point GT in a countdown, there is anadvantage that the time until reaching the merging point GT is wellfound.

In the embodiment described above, the first detection unit 51, themerging detection unit 53, the second detection unit 55, the positiondetection unit 57, and the display control unit 59 correspond to anexample of a first detection unit, a merging detection unit, a seconddetection unit, a position detection unit, and a display control unit.

2. Other Embodiments

Hereinbefore, embodiments of the present disclosure have been described.However, the present disclosure is not limited to the above-describedembodiments, and various aspects can be made in a range not departingfrom the technical range of the present disclosure.

(2a) For example, in the embodiment described above, the case where thehost vehicle is in the self-driving has been exemplified. However, thepresent disclosure can also be applied to a case where the host vehicleis not in the self-driving.

Specifically, in the case where the host vehicle travels by the driver'soperation, when it is detected that the vehicle approaches the mergingpoint, similarly to the embodiment described above, the pre-mergingpoint and the positions of the other vehicles may be displayed on thedisplay device in addition to the position of the host vehicle.

(2b) Further, the present disclosure can be applied not only duringself-driving but also when the route guidance to the destination by thenavigation apparatus is not being implemented.

Specifically, when the host vehicle is traveling by the driver'soperation, when it is detected that the host vehicle approaches themerging point based on the map information or the like of the navigationapparatus, the pre-merging point and the positions of the other vehiclesmay be displayed on the display device in addition to the position ofthe host vehicle, in the same manner as that in the embodiment describedabove.

(2c) Furthermore, in the above embodiment, the one-lane merging road andthe two-lane main road are taken as examples, but the present disclosureis not limited to the above examples. For example, roads of plural lanescan be applied as a merging lane. Also, as a single-lane road or a roadthat exceeds two lanes can be applied as the main road.

(2d) The present disclosure can be applied to a road of the right handtraffic.

(2e) Furthermore, in the present disclosure, for example, a mergingdisplay image to be displayed on a partial image is not limited to theimage shown in FIG. 6 , and various images can be applied.

(2f) In the embodiment described above, even if the position of thepre-merging point is required as described above, when the positions ofthe other vehicles are close to each other, the pre-merging point markcan be prevented from being displayed. Alternatively, in order toindicate the position of the pre-merging point, the pre-merging pointmark may be reduced to the same size as the other vehicle marks anddisplayed.

In such a case, since there is no mergeable space at this time, the hostvehicle adjusts the speed and the like by self-driving and joins whenthe mergeable space is found.

(2g) Further, when there is no other vehicle, the pre-merging mark maynot be displayed. Alternatively, the pre-merging point mark may bedisplayed, but in that case, since the speed of the other vehicle is notknown, the speed of the host vehicle may be employed instead of thespeed of the other vehicle.

(2h) Further, the approaching of the host vehicle to the merging pointmay be detected by a fact that the host vehicle approaches within thepredetermined distance of the merging point based on the mapinformation. However, for example, the approaching may be detected by acommunication device such as a beacon which is installed on a road side.In other words, for example, a signal indicating that the host vehicleapproaches the merging point is output from a roadside device, and thefact that the host vehicle approaches the merging point may be detectedbased on the signal.

(2i) In addition, a function of one constituent element in theabove-described embodiments may be distributed to a plurality ofconstituent elements, or functions of a plurality of constituentelements may be integrated into one constituent element. A part of theconfiguration according to the above-described embodiment may beomitted. Also, at least a part of the configuration in the aboveembodiments may be added to or replaced with another configuration inthe above embodiments.

(2j) Furthermore, in addition to the vehicle control device describedabove, the present disclosure can be realized by various configurationssuch as a system including the vehicle control device as a component, aprogram for causing the computer to function as the vehicle controldevice, a non-transitory tangible recording medium such as asemiconductor memory in which the program is recorded, or a method ofcontrolling a vehicle.

In addition, some or all of the functions executed by the vehiclecontrol device may be configured in hardware by one or more ICs or thelike.

(2k) As a display device, a head-up display device for superimposing anddisplaying the display content of the present disclosure on the outsidein front of the vehicle can be applied.

It is noted that a flowchart or the processing of the flowchart in thepresent application includes sections (also referred to as steps), eachof which is represented, for instance, as S11. Further, each section canbe divided into several sub-sections while several sections can becombined into a single section. Furthermore, each of thus configuredsections can be also referred to as a device, module, or means.

While the present disclosure has been described with reference toembodiments thereof, it is to be understood that the disclosure is notlimited to the embodiments and constructions. The present disclosure isintended to cover various modification and equivalent arrangements. Inaddition, while the various combinations and configurations, othercombinations and configurations, including more, less or only a singleelement, are also within the spirit and scope of the present disclosure.

The invention claimed is:
 1. A vehicle control device comprising: afirst detection unit that detects a traveling state including at least aposition and a speed of a host vehicle; a merging detection unit thatdetects that the host vehicle approaches within a predetermined area ofa merging point on a road in which a merging road and a main road jointogether at the merging point when the host vehicle travels on themerging road toward the merging point; a second detection unit thatdetects a speed of a lane flow by an other vehicle that travels on themain road toward the merging point; a position detection unit that setsa pre-merging point as a virtual point moving on the main road towardthe merging point according to the lane flow, the pre-merging pointreaching the merging point when the host vehicle reaches the mergingpoint, and obtains a position of the pre-merging point on the main roadat a present time based on a time required for the host vehicle to reachthe merging point and the speed of the lane flow on the main road whenthe host vehicle approaches within the predetermined area of the mergingpoint; and a display control unit that controls a display device todisplay the position of the host vehicle on the merging road at thepresent time and the position of the pre-merging point on the main roadat the present time, wherein: the display control unit determines basedon the speed and position of the other vehicle on the main road whetherthere is sufficient space on the main road for the host vehicle to jointhe main road; when there is sufficient space, the display control unitdisplays the pre-merging point not to overlap the other vehicle; whenthere is not sufficient space, the display control unit does not displaythe pre-merging point; and the display control unit determines whetherthere is sufficient space on the main road for the host vehicle to jointhe main road by determining whether a display of the pre-merging pointoverlaps a display of the other vehicle.
 2. The vehicle control deviceaccording to claim 1, wherein: a length of the display of thepre-merging point corresponds to an actual distance of the pre-mergingpoint; and a length of the display between the other vehicle and afurther other vehicle corresponds to an actual distance between theother vehicle and the further other vehicle.